World's 10 Worst Dictators

Unfortunately, human rights and freedom of speech are privileged of blessed few.

The civil rights and basic jurisprudence elude many, thanks to the terrible dictators the world has seen over the years. Brutality and oppression are the hallmarks of such regimes, presided over by cruel and bizarre rulers. Take a look at some of the worst of the lot:

Adolf Hitler

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No doubt, the worst of all of them. He never shied away from admitting that he hated people and that he wanted wars and genocides. Responsible for killing 15 million (yes, you got it right!) people, Hitler’s name is synonymous with hatred, mass murders, torture and racism.

Joseph Stalin

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'One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.’ Well, the chilling quote attributed to Stalin sums up his personality. There were mass executions and imprisonments in labor camps and millions of Russians lost their lives under his reign of terror.

Kim Jong Il

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Kim Jong Il, the erstwhile dictator of North Korea, died of heart failure while traveling by train on November 17, 2011. During his 16-year-long oppressive rule, he ensured that people remain trapped in poverty and prison camps. He invested heavily in the country’s nuclear program, while showing no concern for the terrible famine.

Saddam Hussein

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For more than 30 years, the defiant dictator Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with violence and fear. He has his own bloody ways of dealing with political prisoners. He used chemical gas on the northern Kurdish village of Halabja in 1988, killing an estimated 5,000 of his own citizens, and injuring 10,000 more. Iraq has been through hell due to Saddam’s gross misrule.

Robert Mugabe

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Zimbabwe has seen the worst of times, thanks to the cruel despot who draws immense joy and satisfaction out of killing people. Mugabe has crushed opposition with an iron hand, and made a fortune for himself. Zimbabwe has seen only inflation and negative growth under his rule.

Hosni Mubarak

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Emergency law became the rule of the law in Egypt under the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak. Any opposition was crushed with brute force. Egyptians faced the torture of the worst kind, a reason why only 23 per cent of them bothered to vote in the 2005 Presidential election.

Omar Hassan Al-Bashir

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That the International Criminal Court has indicted Omar Hassan Al-Bashir for war crimes speaks volumes about his reign of terror. Millions of Sudanese lost their lives because of his policies.

Hugo Chavez

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He values freedom of speech, but only for himself. Criticizing West is his wont, and he misses no opportunity of doing that. Amnesty International has come down heavily on him for severely eroding freedom in Venezuela.

Islam Karimov

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Uzbekistan bore the brunt of the policies of President Islam Karimov. People of his country have, in fact, forgotten the meaning of human rights and individual freedoms under his reign.

Bashar Assad

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Syria has hit global headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. The country has been in the midst of a civil war because of the terrible policies of President Bashar Assad. Today, there is no room for dissent or negotiation in Syria, which is witnessing violent clashes between armed forces and rebels. The country remains in turmoil, with more and more deaths being reported every day from all parts of the country.

Every ruler had a different approach to spreading terror, but it wouldn't be long before the people would break all the shackles and live freely. For the sake of humanity, let’s pray the world sees the less and less of such brutal and autocratic rulers.